PORT-VENDRE
Port-Vendres is an ancient deep-water port of the Mediterranean Sea, close to the border between modern France and Spain at the eastern edge of the Pyrenees.
The Phoenicians and Greeks would have influenced and traded with this area, probably bringing vines and olives. Ancient writers called it Aphrodisium (after its sanctuary to Aphrodite), so that perhaps bodes well for the start of our romantic cruise?
The Romans developed it as Port Veneris (after their goddess Venus) in part of their region called Gallia Narbonensis. Control of the region passed from Romans to Visigoths, to Saracens (Moors) then to Franks, namely Charlemagne and his Carolingian empire.
In the Middle Ages the area was part of Catalonia, controlled by the Frankish Count of Barcelona, and part of the wider Crown of Aragon, of which more later. In fact, Catalan is still spoken in this area today, although not as an official language.
Later, the port was developed by the Kingdom of Mallorca, which was a vasal state of the Crown of Aragon. The Crown of Aragon later became part of the Spain within the Habsburg empire.
During the 17th century, the Bourbon kings of France fought against the Habsburg dynasty, who pretty much ruled the rest of Europe, including Spain. At the end of this Franco-Spanish war, the area - known as North Catalonia - was ceded by the Spanish to the French, to whom the area is known as Roussillon. Hence, Canet-en-Roussillon.
The obelisk in Port Vendres was erected in 1783 to commemorate the Independence of the USA, supported by France and declared at the Treaty of Versailles that year.
It is also “point zero” from which elevations and altitude are measured for all other countries. This was fixed in the early 19th century by scientist François Arago.
The great French military engineer, Vauban, fortified the port and planned its expansion, which was carried out long after his death. The port became a military base for the French conquest of north Africa in the 19th century. And during WWII, the occupying German forces also modified many buildings, which they partially destroyed as they retreated.
Today, the town is a picturesque fishing port and tourist destination, and can also accommodate cruise liners, which are just a bit larger than Missy Bear.
We arrived at about 19:30 after our first trip from Canet. We had spoken to the capitainerie earlier to say that we would be arriving, but they had gone home. With no berth, we asked a local boat where we could park overnight, and he directed us to the main quay, near the bars and restaurant. We parked alongside, and soon Missy Bear was resting under a nearly full moon. We had a quick freshen up, and the ate a selection of tapas on the water front.
Next day, we visited the Duoane early to get our passports stamped. We were a bit nervous, and the whole process was a total farce. They are not used to British citizens requiring to be checked out of the country. Alix has said she will write a blog just about our experience at the Douane, because looking back, it was quite comical. Ultimately, we got the stamps we needed, so we breathed a slight sigh of relief as we left the building.
The next stop was the capitainerie to secure a berth for the night. The man was very pleasant and walked with us around to the quay to point out where we could park stern-to. He waited until we got Missy Bear there, and then helped us with the two lazy lines. Our first lazy line manoeuvre went perfectly.
The rest of the day, we did a few more preparatory jobs on the boat, e.g. secured the life raft, improved the fixing for the passerelle etc. But the days was generally relaxing, if immensely hot. It was dificult to keep drinking enough water to stay hydrated. Alix and I had a walk around the town and did the food shopping in the local Intermarche. We needed food for two days, as we were eating on board that night, and also the whole of the next day, on our next trip to Barcelona.
I went to the capitainerie to pay for the berth, but the boat was not on their computer system. I could have simply sailed away and they would have not been any wiser, but I insisted we were parked up and that I should pay. "Ok", said the young man, "then you must go back and get all your ship's papers for me too see." At that point, I got a bit nervous. But in fact, it turned out that, when I arrived with the documents, he checked nothing, and just needed a few details about the boat (which I have learned off by heart) and my address and contact details.
On passing the small fishing boat dock, I realised that one boat had caught a large tuna (over 80kg on the scales). Many tourists were gathered to have photos of it. I went to find Alix, so she could take a look.
It was a strange feeling for me, seeing such a fine marine top-predator, killed and hung up by its tail. I'm basically a hypocrite, becuase I love eating fresh tuna, but at the same time, I find it sad to see one that's just been killed partly for my benefit. I’m sure the fisherman was very happy though, as that fish would sell for lots and lots of Euros!!
THE CROWN OF ARAGON
I made a cursory glance at a map of the Crown of Aragon and its Mediterranean expansion up to the mid-15th Century. I found it very interesting, as I realised that Missy Bear would hopefully be sailing eastwards through much of that old sea empire (thalassocracy).
The Crown of Aragon initially comprised the Kingdom of Aragon* and the County of Barcelona, which later became the Principality of Catalonia. Having failed to expand southwards into Castille, the Crown focused expansion to the east, i.e., through the Mediterranean Sea. Their thalassocracy included much of what is now eastern Spain and southern France, the Balearic Islands, Sardinia, Sicily, Malta, Southern Italy (from 1442) and parts of Greece (until 1388). In general, it was the Catalans who made these maritime excursions.
After Barcelona, our first island hop will hopefully be to Sardinia. The Crown of Aragon coveted Sardinia, because of its abundant supply of natural resources, such as silver and salt and its thriving agricultural economy. Sardinia’s location was also central to the ‘route of the islands’ that halved the sailing time to the rich markets of the Eastern Mediterranean. The Aragonese sieged the Sardinian towns and eventually took the island from the Pisans in circa 1325.
[* As a tangential point, in 1469, King Ferdinand II (Crown of Aragon) would marry Queen Isabella I (Crown of Castille), creating a union that would become the Monarchy of Spain, under overall Habsburg rule. Their daughter, Catherine of Aragon, was Henry VIII’s first wife. She had been married to Henry’s older brother, Arthur, as part of a strategic catholic Anglo-Spanish alliance.